Into the Ordinary: The Divine in the Everyday

“Once upon a time”, there was a story about a young king. He wanted to get to know his people. He disguised himself as a peasant and walked among the people.

The first situation he encountered was a traffic jam. Horses and carts were all jammed together. People screamed at each other; no one backed away. The young disguised king, stepped into the chaos and began to give orders. Quickly the jam dissolved and traffic flowed. Farther down the road, the king met a married couple who were fighting, and it had turned violent. The young king stepped into the fray and stopped the violence. Then he began to talk to the couple about living a different way. When he departed, they were holding hands, granted suspiciously.A little later, the king encountered two merchants who were arguing about the ownership of the property between their stores. It was getting nasty. The king interrupted. He told them to get their documents and arguments together and go to the local judge. They should not be arguing in public on the street.The young king spent the whole day like this, always exercising leadership. Then he reached a conclusion, the moral of my story. He realized, “When it is in you and in the situation, it is hard not to be King.”This applies in so many ways. When you are the right kind of person, and the situation is right, it is hard not to be Father, Mother, Priest; it is hard not to be a friend. It is hard not to be a saint. It all depends on what is in you.So, when you look in the mirror, who do you see? Fr. James O’Leary